This invention relates to a small engine driven boat.
In a typical prior art small boat, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 55-2510, the steer seat or helmseat is located toward one of the sides or gunwales, a circular frame-like steering wheel is provided for steering the boat and a control box for operating the internal combustion engine are located to the front of this helmseat, and a passenger seat is located toward the other side or gunwale from the helmseat.
With this type of prior art, because the helmseat is located toward one of the gunwales, it is difficult to know the exact position of the other side of the boat while steering, and also operation of both the steering wheel and the control box is required.
In addition, not only is space required for the control box, but also, because the boat is steered by turning the circular steering wheel, a relatively large amount of space is required in which to operate the steering wheel. Moreover, in order to, for example, turn the rudder all the way in one direction, the steering wheel must be turned over a large angle, such as about two complete revolutions in one direction, and thus it is not easy to quickly turn the boat.
The general object of this invention is to provide a small boat in which the steering operation is made easy by the combination of the functions of both the steering wheel and the control box in a single control stick, and in which the amount of space required to perform the steering operation is reduced.